The Source

The Source on Women’s Issues in Congress, June 25-29, 2018

Floor Action:

Appropriations— On June 25, the Senate approved, 86-5, H.R. 5895, a “minibus” bill containing the FY2019 Legislative Branch; Military Construction, Veterans’ Affairs and Related Agencies; and Energy and Water spending bills, as amended. The House approved its version of H.R. 5895 on June 8 (see The Source, 6/8/18).

The Senate Appropriations Committee passed its versions of the FY2019 Legislative Branch and Military Construction, Veterans’ Affairs and Related Agencies spending bills on June 14 and June 7, respectively (see The Source, 6/15/18, 6/8/18).

On June 28, the House passed, 359-49, H.R. 6157, the FY2019 Defense spending bill. The House Appropriations Committee approved the bill on June 13 (see The Source, 6/15/18; please click here for the committee report).

Family Support— On June 28, the Senate approved, 86-11, H.R. 2, the Agriculture and Nutrition Act, also known as the 2018 Farm Bill. The Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee approved the measure on June 13; the House approved its version of H.R. 2 on June 21 (see The Source, 6/22/18).

Human Trafficking— On June 25, the House passed, by voice vote, H.R. 6069, the Fight Illicit Networks and Detect (FIND) Trafficking Act, as amended.

Miscellaneous— On June 25, the House passed, by voice vote, H.R. 805, the Tulare Youth Recreation and Women’s History Enhancement Act.

On June 28, the Senate passed H.R. 4463, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 6 Doyers Street in New York, New York, as the “Mabel Lee Memorial Post Office”.

Mark-Ups:

Appropriations— On June 28, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved, 30-1, S. 3159, the FY2019 Defense spending bill. The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense passed the measure on June 26.

According to the committee report, the measure would provide $675 billion in overall funding, $20.4 billion above the FY2018 enacted level. The bill would allocate $34.5 billion to the Defense Health Program, which provides medical services for military personnel and their families.

According to the committee report, the bill would allocate $179.3 billion in discretionary funding, an increase of $2.2 billion from the FY2018 level. Among other provisions important to women and their families, the measure would provide $10.1 billion for Head Start and $27 million for services for victims of human trafficking.

Health— On June 26, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee passed several bills, including S. 3029, the Prematurity Research Expansion and Education for Mothers Who Deliver Infants Early (PREEMIE) Reauthorization Act, and S. 1112, the Maternal Health Accountability Act.

STEM/Education— On June 27, the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee approved, by voice vote, H.R. 4254, the Women in Aerospace Education Act, as amended.